Sophie Cunningham On Sydney Sweeney’s Betting Ad: “It’s Just So Unauthentic”

WNBA guard Sophie Cunningham called Sydney Sweeney’s Novig sports-betting ad inauthentic but defended the actress, saying the ad was obviously meant for men and that women shouldn’t feel bad about it.

The ad featured Sweeney in sports gear, pushing betting on “just sports.” Cunningham mentioned all this on her podcast, No Hesitation With Sophie Cunningham & Drew Hanlen.

Cunningham started the conversation with the reaction she got.

“Honestly, speaking of women in sport or, like, women not in sport, the amount of text messages, DMs, comments, people wanting to know, maybe not know, but wanting me to talk about the Sydney Sweeney ad, like, I feel like we got a hit on it. Everyone’s talking about it, and they want to know. Now, let me ask you this. You’ve met her before, correct?” she said.

The conversation on the episode continued: “Actually, I had a NASCAR event last year, and I spent, like, five minutes with her. So, I met her, but, like, do I know her? No. What’s your take? I know that you love giving takes, so what is your take on the ad?”

Cunningham questioned the actress’s connection with betting.

“I have so many takes, but, like, it’s just, first of all, like, does she even, like, does she even gamble on sports? Like, it’s just so unauthentic. You know what I mean? Like, am I surprised by how she represented the brand? No,” she said.

Then she complimented Sweeney.

“Like, that’s what she’s made her whole career off is, and hey, don’t get me wrong. Like, I like her. Like, she, everyone knows she is beautiful. She is hot. She clearly has my chest. Sorry. Just have to fix my seat real quick. And so, like, I really like her. You know what?” she said.

“She sticks to her guns, and she does her thing, and she’s her. So, like, props to her. Do I like it? Like, that particular ad, not really. Like, I think it’s, like, I mean, like, what are we doing? But, again, I’m not surprised. Like, that’s what she’s known for. So, she’s going to do that. She’s making her money,” she added.

“Go do your thing, sis. Now, here’s my hot take. What? I was just going to say, she’s just running her playbook. She literally did the exact same thing with the Gene campaign. And to be honest with you, the crazy thing is, all the people that were outraged were women, and the ad was clearly targeting men. Men. Because the majority of gamblers, I think they said 75% of gamblers are men between the ages of whatever and whatever, like younger men. So, I think they knew what they were doing. They knew that they were going to spike up a lot of traffic from women being disappointed with the ad and putting her down. And men weren’t going to say anything, and they were going to get all the eyeballs on the ad, which they clearly did. So, I understand. They just ran the same playbook that they did last time they were p*ssed at the Gene ad. Now, they just did it for a sports gambling company. And I’m sure they’ll do it again.”

The conversation then shifted to the women’s criticism.

“But why are girls mad? Like, that is literally what she does. Why is anyone mad? Like, she is a gambling ad. Men, sports, pretty much n*ked women. Like, of course, that’s going to draw attention. Again, do I agree with it? Morally, I think it’s kind of weird. But, like, teach their own. Go do your thing, sis.”

Cunningham used the opportunity to praise female athletes.

“But at the end of the day, I’m really loving seeing all these girls who are powerful, strong, showing young girls what it looks like to actually be an athlete. I don’t think the ad was coming for women in sport. But I will say, I think I will take this time a little bit of time to, you know, talk about, I think it has been so cool to see girls who, you know what, they’re muscly, their thighs touch, they have broad shoulders, they might be taller than the average girl and probably the average boy. But you know what? I think that’s what it is. Like, you’ve got to embrace your power,” she said.

She also talked about her upbringing.

“And I was tall growing up. I was taller than all the girls, all the guys. And my mom is 5 feet 11 inches. My aunt is 6 feet 2 inches, 6 feet 3 inches. My grandma was tall at the time. And, you know, every time they kind of saw us shrinking in photos or trying to be, like, smaller than the guys, they’re like, no, you better stand straight up because that’s going to be your biggest superpower one day. Your strength, your athletic ability, how tall you are. Like, God made you that way for a reason. And so you better use it. And I just want girls to know that, like, don’t shrink. Don’t shrink to make other people feel better about themselves when you’re born to stick out,” she said.

Cunningham concluded the conversation by explaining why the ad hurt some.

“I will say, though, like, I can understand when you first see that ad that, like, it could kind of deflate women because it’s like, we have worked so hard to get a little bit of respect around here. But then when you really think about it, it’s like, screw it. Let that girl go do her thing. We can still, this has nothing to do with us. So, you know, it’s nothing like everyone trying to hate on each other and figure out life,” she said.